England allrounder Ben Stokes and co-accused Ryan Ali have been cleared of affray by a jury in the Bristol Crown Court.
The jury of six men and six women delivered its unanimous verdict after 2.5 hours of deliberation.
Stokes and Ali were tried for affray over a brawl that erupted in Bristol, southwest England, in the early hours of September 25 last year.
Stokes and Ali shared a warm handshake in the dock before they both left Court One. Jury cleared both unanimously.
— Andy Lines (@andylines) August 14, 2018
Stokes’s cricket career has been on hold during the trial – meaning he missed England’s second Test victory over India at Lord’s – and he was omitted form the squad for the third Test which gets underway next Saturday.
Stokes also missed England’s Ashes tour of Australia in the 2017-18 summer, which England lost 4-0, before returning to play against New Zealand.
In total, the allrounder has missed six Tests, seven ODIs and four T20s for England in the fall out from the events in Bristol.
A brief statement issued by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said they would review Stokes’s position following the conclusion of the trial.
Stokes and Hales will now face a Cricket Disciplinary Committee (CDC) hearing following the conclusion of Stokes’ trial for affray.
The CDC will convene within 48 hours of the conclusion of the legal process, and is expected to deliver its verdict within a week. The CDC operates independently from the England and Wales Cricket Board but it is funded by the administrators.
The allrounder was alleged to have punched Ryan Hale to the ground and then knocked out Ryan Ali during the fracas outside Bristol’s Mbargo nightclub.
It was alleged in the court that Stokes was “enraged” after a doorman refused to allow him and teammate Alex Hales back into a nightclub hours after England had beaten the West Indies in a one-day international in Bristol.
Bristol Crown Court heard that Stokes punched Ali and Hale unconscious after “charging” at them from across the road.
Stokes told the jury he felt “under threat” at all times during the incident and said he only stepped in after hearing Ali and Hale shouting homophobic abuse at gay men William O’Connor and Kai Barry, who did not give evidence at the trial.
Prosecutors allege that Ali used a bottle during the fight, threatening Hales and delivering a glancing blow to the shoulder of Barry.
Ali suffered a fractured eye socket, while Hale was left with concussion after both were punched by the cricketer in the brawl.
Stokes’ defence team told the jury the injuries may have come from the boot of England batsman Hales, who was seen on CCTV footage aiming a kick. Hales was not charged.
Ali told jurors the England cricketer “was very angry and looking for someone to pick on”.
He said his memory of the evening was “incomplete” because of the head injury he suffered when he was knocked out.
Ali denied that O’Connor and Barry were being “a bit of a nuisance” and he and Hale were getting “irate” with them.
He said that deciding to use a bottle as a weapon would be a “difficult decision for me to take”.
“I would have to perceive a significant threat to do that. I can hear myself saying ‘Move away’,” he said.
